There are many cosmetic and pharmaceutical products on the market today — sold in pharmacies, shopping-mall kiosks and online. As consumers, many of us care strongly about the cleanliness and safety of what we buy. One of the first questions to ask about any product is simple: is it registered?
In Malaysia, products within the scope of pharmaceutical control must be registered with the National Pharmaceutical Regulatory Agency (NPRA), which operates under the Ministry of Health (known historically as the Biro Pengawalan Farmaseutikal Kebangsaan, or BPFK) before they can be lawfully sold.
How to check a registration
The NPRA provides an online service at www.npra.gov.my that lets anyone verify whether a product on the market is registered and holds the required approval. Here is how to use it:
- Open the NPRA website and navigate to the product search section.
- Enter the product name, or search by other identifying details if you have them.
- Review the results — a registered product will appear in the NPRA records with its registration details and validity period.
- If the product does not appear in the NPRA database, it is not registered and should be treated with caution.
The same database can be used to inspect products manufactured by a particular company. For example, you can search for “sari tani desa” by product or by manufacturer to see the products our facility has manufactured that are registered with the authorities.
What this means for manufacturers
For brand owners, registration is not just a compliance step — it is a marker of a product that can be sold with confidence through retail and institutional channels. It is also one of the reasons OEM manufacturers with registration experience are valuable partners: they have walked the path their customers now need to walk.
These checks are provided by the authorities free of charge, and we encourage both consumers and businesses to use them when verifying products they buy or produce.
